The history of pharmaceuticals

The world of medicine has come a long way since human civilization. Many diseases that were once incurable are now treatable. According to Homer’s mythology, the ancient Egyptians developed more than 500 medicinal formulas back in 1550 BC and most of their therapeutic effects were delivered through spiritual healing rather than drugs. You can read more about this subject right here on this website.Pharmaphorum and its historyThe history of the pharmaceutical industry dates back to the middle ages, but the industry did not develop until 19th century. Although the scientific revolution of the 18th century had its own ideas of rationalism, pharmaceuticals were not properly developed for human health until later in 18th century. You can read the following articles that appear on this website about the history of the pharmaceutical industry at pharmaphorum.com.Pharmaceutical companiesThe origins of GlaxoSmithKline can be traced back as far as 1700, but it wasn’t until the middle of 19th century that Beecham entered the medicine industry. Meanwhile, in America, Pfizer was founded by two German immigrants in 1849. Their business rapidly grew during the American civil war when demand for antiseptics and painkillers was high.As Pfizer was selling medicines during the war, a young commander (Eli Lilly) was a trained chemist and launched his pharmaceutical business in 1876. He became a pioneer of new methods in the medicine industry and focused mainly on R&D manufacturing. He set up a lab in 1858 and just like Pfizer; he supplied medicine to the armed forces.European pharma companiesMeanwhile, Switzerland also developed home-grown medicines in the late 19th century. This country was previously known for trading textiles, but soon, Swiss manufacturers started to realise that they can also sell antiseptics. Soon the Swiss pharma industry took off and demand for high quality medicines from other countries increased. However, it wasn’t just Switzerland that had its roots in the textile industry and later moved into medicines. Bayer also commercialised aspirin in 1863 and became one of the most successful companies from that point.